What was it like to experience World War II in small-town America? Here is the story of the war at home as it unfolded in one small town, New Castle, Indiana. We see through the eyes of the residents of Plum Street as families search for information about the progress of the war and the fate of loved ones in the censored accounts in local newspapers. We overhear everyday conversation up and down the street, in which the dominant subject is the news from overseas. The war finds its way into letters and diaries, which also record private fears and hopes, rumors and town gossip, and the wonderfully mundane events of everyday life.
Bruce C. Smith is a native of New Castle, Indiana. He lives in Daggett, Michigan.
A superb story. Smith has a wonderful eye for detail and a compelling perspective and voice. We care about this place and the people who live here.This is a unique look at the war, far from the front lines, but equally impacting life on the home front. April 2009
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Migration and a New Start in the 1920s
2. Coping with Hard Times in the 1930s
3. The Slow Pull Upward, Late 1930s
4. Into the Storm, 19391941
5. Duty Calls Every Citizen, 1942
6. Bearer of Bad News, 1942
7. Urgent Preparation, 1943
8. Together, and Alone, 1943
9. Despair and Bitter Hope, 1944
10. Invasion, 1944
11. Will It Never End? 1945
12. We'll Meet Again, 1945
Epilogue
Sources
Index
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